Government Relations within the Office of the Chancellor assists friends of the State System in advocating on behalf of the System’s priorities through effective advocacy, outreach and communication and relations with the Legislature, state agencies and other external entities with the support of the System office, campuses, alumni and other supporters.

The State System is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. The universities offer the lowest-cost, four-year degree programs among all colleges and universities in the state. Did you also know…

Nearly 90 percent of the students being educated at the 14 State System universities are residents of the Commonwealth.

More than 80 percent of State System university graduates will remain here to live, work, and raise their families.

State System universities award about 26,000 certificates and degrees each year. The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded has increased by 10 percent over the last five years, even as overall enrollment has declined.

Nearly 540,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania, as everything from business owners, healthcare workers, and teachers to graphic designers, computer security specialists, software engineers, and more. In short, they are an integral part of every community.

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Funding the State System receives from the state through its annual appropriation represents an important investment in the Commonwealth’s future, and one that results in a significant rate of return. The most obvious beneficiaries are the students, whose personal success also benefits the Commonwealth. An economic and workforce impact study conducted in 2015 by an independent consultant also showed that:

The State System generates more than $6.7 billion annually in economic activity across the Commonwealth.

In addition to the approximately 12,000 employees who work at the universities, the System also supports about 62,000 external jobs statewide, including those with the hundreds of small businesses that thrive in the campus communities.

On average, each university has an economic impact of more than $300 million annually and supports about 4,400 external jobs in its community, region, and state.

In the simplest terms, the State System produces nearly $11 of economic impact for every $1 invested by the Commonwealth through its annual appropriation.

Our advocates believe in the System’s value to the Commonwealth, and we rely on them to be engaged and share the System’s message with elected officials. Their words, their actions, and their influence matter.